Starting in fall 2025, some students who currently attend the Community Colleges of Spokane — Spokane Community College and Spokane Falls Community College — will be guaranteed the chance to start studying at Whitworth University. This partnership between Whitworth and CCS will create a Guaranteed Admissions Program that promises students with a 3.4 or higher GPA a spot at the university and a scholarship of at least $25,000 per year. Students will need to be enrolled at either SCC or SFCC and making significant progress toward completing an associate's degree before they can apply to the program. Plus, they'll need to submit an admission application to Whitworth. "Partnerships like this help us fulfill our mission of offering all students an excellent education that transforms their lives and expands their opportunities," CCS Chief of Staff & Strategy Lori Hunt said in an Oct. 25 news release. Additionally, this partnership allows the community colleges to submit official transcripts to Whitworth for free. (COLTON RASANEN)
ROLLING FORWARD
The city of Spokane is considering a proposal to develop a more connected urban mobility network by the end of 2027. City Planning Director Spencer Gardner presented the plan on Oct. 21 to the Public Infrastructure Environment & Sustainability Committee of the City Council. The project would create 27 miles of high-comfort bikeways on Spokane streets with lower vehicle traffic, connecting existing trails and making the network accessible for all ages and abilities. The project would leverage existing low-traffic infrastructure and connect with the existing Centennial Trail. It is estimated to cost $6 million over three years, but Gardner believes costs can be reduced through grants, wheelshare fees from Lime e-bike and scooter rentals, traffic impact fees, and external partnerships. "The hope is, again, that we're leveraging those low-cost existing infrastructure, tying into our existing trail network and only making improvements where they're needed to connect those disparate pieces of infrastructure," Gardner told the committee. (VICTOR CORRAL MARTINEZ)
FULLY STOCKED CABINET
As announced on Wednesday, Oct. 23, Mayor Lisa Brown's Cabinet is officially full, with no impact to the current budget. By filling vacant roles with internal promotions and trading the chief of staff position for a new director of transportation role, the mayor was able to fill out her team without adding new salaries to city spending. Alexander Scott, who was Brown's chief of staff, will now be city administrator. This frees up interim City Administrator Garrett Jones to return to his original position as director of Parks and Recreation. Allison Adam was hired as human resources director, which allows former City Attorney Mike Ormsby, who was filling that role, to go back to retirement. Mike Sloon, who recently retired from the city's IT director position, was replaced by Laz Martinez, who previously worked as IT manager for the Public Works department. Finally, instead of a chief of staff, the mayor will now be advised by a director of transportation and sustainability, Jon Snyder. Snyder was a City Council member from 2009 to 2015, then left Spokane for Olympia to be Gov. Jay Inslee's senior policy adviser for outdoor recreation and economic development. (ELIZA BILLINGHAM) ♦
